ATTACKS

05.08.131:15 PM ET

Indian Women Targeted on Social Media for Liberal Views

Threatened with gang rape, acid attacks.

Female activists in India are starting to see a disturbing trend: they are not just being attacked on Twitter for their views, they are being physically threatened with gang rape, torture, and even acid attacks. Kativa Krishnan, a prominent Delhi-based women’s activist, was participating in an online chat with Rediff.com (an Indian news portal) when a user with the handle @RAPIST began posting abusive comments, until he finally asked her if “he could come rape me using a condom.” Krishnan says she is thick-skinned, but “what angered me was that Rediff didn’t ensure their guest was given a safe environment, the chat was not moderated nor was the user blocked.” For journalist Sagarika Ghose, things went over the top when someone tweeted out the details of her young daughter’s school and class. Ghose said the women she sees abused on Twitter tend to be “liberal and secular.”